Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-02-26
THE LIVEST CITY IN KANSAS.
Thousands Of People, Great Blocks o
Buildings, and the Metropolis
of Kansas.
From the Atchison Daily Champion.

1
of Kansas.
From the Atchison Daily Champion.
If any body doubts that there is boom
at Wichita let him go and see for himself
and he will come away, if the real estate
agents will let him get away, satisfied that
it is the liveliest city in Kansas. The
streets are full of people, the hotels and
boarding houses overrun with them. and
every train brings additional scores to
swell the boom. Great blocks of buildings
are going up. five, six and seven stories
high, not on the principal thorOughfares
alone, but on all sides, and there is no end
to the demand for mechanics. Thirty or
forty architects are constantly employed
drawing, devising, planning and esti-
mating, and everybody is talking real
estate and shouting for Wichita. There
are so many real estate agents that the
municipality derives considerable revenue
from them. Over six hundred licenses
have been issued by the city clerk, and be
sides these there are fully four hundred
more who do curbstone business and act
as cappers for their more successful breth
rem who are able to occupy offices. The
office of the register Of deeds is full from
morning until night, every desk occupied,
and the ante room crowded with dealers
and abstracters waiting their turn at the
records. Trading is SO active that abstract
ers keep men at the books constantly in or
der to keep their abstracts up to the latest
transfers Addition after addition has
been laid out until the town is
now nine miles long and fully
six wide. One ward lays entirely on the
west side of the river (Arkansas) and if
maps. pats, lots and blocks count for any
thing, it is the biggest side Of town. The
inhabited parts of the city are reached by
street railway lines, the entire system, it is
claimed, amounting to eighteen miles.
Prices 1--WE speak of real estate prices. for
there is nothing at Wichita but real estate)
are simply awful. Town lots 25xl25 feet,
two and three miles from the center of bust
ness, were sold last week at 5000 spot cash,
aud on Monday there was a good demand
for them at 5000 And this too, in local
ties where there is not house or the sign
of house. On Monday prices went boom
ing on account of sale just made of a cor
ner 2iy90 feet occupied 10y 4 common too
story brick buildidg, The property going
for $50, 600. Four or five blocks from this
corner, another corner with seventy five
feet front is held at $75, 600, if some fe!-
low has not already bought it and advanc.
ed the price to 500 600 Ordinary resi-
dcnce lots are held at from $2.5 to
1000, and such lots as Mr. Manley's on
Atchison's Commercial street west of
Eleventh are ready sale at $40, 900 and
$4,000. Men who We're broke two years
ago now estimate their possessions by tens
and hundreds of thousands One man,
barber. stranded seven months ago, work
ing at his trade until he could get money
enough to pay his wife's fare to him, and
is now worth $1,000 bv real estate trades.
Another young man, J. E. Davis. drifred
to the boom without dollar, obtaining
as a clerk in a furnishing
house. He saved $500, slapped it into a
lot haphazzard sold it in two months
for 81 coo, and is now anxious TO put
$50 600 cash into new bank. He
drives the finest rig in town and is up TO
his ears in schemes. There are hundreds
of such cases as these. and pioneer citi |
zens, such as Greitfensteiu. Carey aud that
class of men, who owned vast acres before
the boom came, have made princely for
tunes. The latter is just completing a |
splendid six-story hotel, which will be the |
Mr.. Greiffenstein, finishes the palace he |
proposes To break ground for in few |
weeks Home capital is putting up all the |
new buildings, and town pride is So strong |
hat builders frequently change their |
plans and push their walls an extra story |
Or two in order to keep up with the pro |
cession. The new buildings would be a |
credit to Kansas City or Chicago The |
4 -,
confidence that the place will be a city e |
100. 0o0 or $50 900 inhabitants. When the |
craze is over The bottom will fall out, |
will have to hold the bag
The more enthusiastic citizens, chiefly |
real estate agents. claim Il population of |
27.00o This is the figure agreed upon at
the last meeting. Next week they HAY |
raise it to 30 900. There are probably |
90, 900 people in the place. permanent and |
OF course, the retaii business |
Is good at Wichita. and will be as long rs
The people stay there and have money to
spend. There are no public improve
men,s going on. The streets are simply |
dirt roads. Although the city is fiat. no |
steps have been taken toward \ system of |
sewers. the boomers getting rid Of di>a- /
greeablc and unsnswerable question by /
saving thSi sewerage VIII come after while |
when they have more time TO think of H.
The city has waterworks. but they are of |
TO sanitary benefit whatever. and hot |
weather Is certssn to breed disease. |
The bsnks have the largest deposits
in the state. aud crowdiug a
million and half. another mil |
lion. and four others not far behind Marsh |
Murdock says bis friend. Mr. Walker, had |
10 use his foot the ether night To crowd the |
deposits in in order to get the vault door |
closed Yet the bankers admit that they |
mus, keep sixty Per cent of their deposits |
ON hand to meet probable demand Ri any |
hour. Eastern capital. slways timid. is not |
going into Wichita buildings. This growth |
Is The work wholly IF home people The |
crowd simply does the irading in real es |
'a'e. one sucker unloading on another aad |
buy lrs again with his profits. Prices can't |
<" much higher, and when they crme to a |
-'an'!s'lll. the sellers will stampede like d |
psck III sheep, the bottom will fall out,